PWBA Tour Championship

The PWBA Tour Championship is one of the four major events on the PWBA (Professional Women's Bowling Association) Tour. The tournament has been the final event of the PWBA Tour season since the Tour's rebirth in 2015. It has been held in Arlington, Texas (2015), Midlothian, Virginia (2016) and Richmond, Virginia (2017 through 2020).[1]

Background

The original PWBA Tour (1960–2003) had three major events: The U.S. Women's Open (since inception), USBC Queens (since 1961), and the PWBA Players Championship (began as the PWBA Championships in 1960, and has been held on and off under similar names since). When the Tour was restarted in 2015, the PWBA Tour Championship was added to serve as a season-ending playoffs.

The PWBA Tour Championship is an invitational event with a starting field of 16 players. Any full-fledged PWBA member who wins one of the prior events in the current season automatically makes the field of 16, regardless of her season point total. The remaining spots in the field are filled with the women holding the highest point totals among non-winners. (Because a given player could win more than one tournament during the season, the number of at-large invitations can vary.) Invited players are then re-seeded 1 through 16 based on season point totals.

The tournament is set up in four bracketed elimination rounds. The #5 through #16 seeds bowl in the first round, consisting of head-to-head, best three-of-five matches. The six winners join the #3 and #4 seeds (who earned first-round byes) in the second round, which consists of four head-to-head, best three-of-five matches. The four winners of those matches bowl head-to-head, best three-of-five matches in the third round to determine the two bowlers who will join the #1 and #2 seeds in the televised finals. The televised final round features two head-to-head, single-elimination semifinal matches, with the #1 and #2 seeds each facing one of the survivors from the third round. The two winners of those matches then square off in a single-game final match to determine the champion.[1]

Despite being automatically placed into the televised finals, no #1 or #2 seed had ever won this tournament until 2019.[2]

Champions

2019 Event

The 2019 PWBA Tour Championship was held September 15–18 at the Old Dominion Building inside the Richmond Raceway Complex (former Virginia State Fairgrounds). Total prize fund was $70,000, with a $20,000 top prize.[3] Seven of the eight 2019 tournament winners participated, along with nine at-large invitees who were the point leaders among non-winners. (Amanda Greene, winner of the Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event, was not a PWBA member at the time of her victory and was thus ineligible.) American Shannon O'Keefe won from the #1 seed position, defeating Ukraine's Dasha Kovalova in the final match. This was O'Keefe's fifth title of the 2019 season, her 13th title overall, and her third career major. Having won the 2017 PWBA Tour Championship, O'Keefe also became the first two-time winner of this event.[4]

Semifinal 1: (1) Shannon O'Keefe defeated (12) Stefanie Johnson, 234–223
Semifinal 2: (3) Dasha Kovalova defeated (2) Danielle McEwan, 279–230
Final match: Shannon O'Keefe defeated Dasha Kovalova, 268–179

  • Prize Pool:
1. Shannon O'Keefe (Shiloh, Illinois) – $20,000
2. Dasha Kovalova (Ukraine) – $10,000
T3. Danielle McEwan, (Stony Point, New York) – $6,000
T3. Stefanie Johnson, (McKinney, Texas) – $6,000

Past winners
SeasonWinnerRunner-upChampionship match score
2015Danielle McEwanStefanie Johnson233–205[5]
2016New Hui FenCherie Tan258–235[6]
2017Shannon O'KeefeKelly Kulick222–203[7]
2018Maria Jose RodríguezKelly Kulick236–228[2]
2019Shannon O'KeefeDasha Kovalova268–179[4]

References
  1. "A Look at the History and Facts of the PWBA Tour Championship". PWBA.com. September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  2. "Maria Jose Rodríguez Wins 2018 PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  3. "Tour Championship Prize Fund" (PDF). pwba.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  4. "O'KEEFE CAPS BANNER YEAR WITH WIN AT 2019 PWBA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP". Bowl.com. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. "McEwan wins Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". bowl.com. September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. "New Hui Fen wins 2016 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  7. "Shannon O'Keefe wins 2017 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
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